House Martell
House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and is the ruling house of Dorne. 'Nymeros' indicates "of the line of Nymeria," but generally it is simply called House Martell. The seat of the Prince of Dorne is Sunspear in southeastern Dorne. The current head of House Martell is Prince Nymor Martell. The Martells of old used a spear as their emblem, while Nymeria and her Rhoynar used the sun as theirs. When Nymeria wed Lord Mors Martell, the symbols were combined into a gold spear piercing a red sun on an orange field. Their words are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. Members of House Martell are noted to share the ethnic similarities to their Rhoynar ancestors, with smooth olive skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes. History Please see the official wiki page for more details. The Fall of the Stag House Martell remained stalwart supporters of the throne during Robert’s Uprising. Matrilineally related through the union between Prince Rhaegar and Princess Elia Martell, it is speculated that the southern house had no choice but to support the throne, even after the Prince’s open preference for his lover, Lady Lyanna Stark, as Princess Elia and her children were held under guest hostage in King’s Landing during the rebellion. Prince Lewyn Martell, Prince Doran’s uncle and a sword of the Kingsguard, was given the command of the ten thousand Dornish spears sent to help Prince Rhaegar at the Trident. Though Prince Lewyn fell at the Trident, slain by the Valeman Ser Lyn Corbray, the Dornish were ultimately successful, fighting on at the Hartford and witness to the fall of Robert Baratheon, a crucial leader and namesake of the rebellion itself. They contributed to at least one quarter of the men fighting at the Trident, and followed the command of Ser Barristan Selmy at Fairmarket when they were successful once more. After the Uprising After the success in Fairmarket and the end of the Uprising at Storm’s End, Prince Doran Martell, Lord Paramount of Dorne, was raised to the office of Master of Laws of the Iron Throne, while his brother Prince Oberyn Martell remained as Castellan of Sunpear in his lieu. His heiress, Princess Arianne, was raised in Sunspear rather than follow her father to King’s Landing. Prince Doran Martell was one of the judges during the Trial of Three, and the only member of the panel who had to be swayed to agree to the final sentencing of Lord Tully and Lord Arryn. On the other hand, Doran viewed Ned Stark as an instigator for the uprising, insisting his head was the only repayment for such betrayal, and held no sympathy for the Lady Lyanna’s pleas. When the King pardoned the Lord of the North, Doran could only approve of his sentence at the Wall. The Prince held his position in King’s Landing for a great number of years, upholding correspondence through raven with his heir, Princess Arianne, to monitor her education and goings-on in Sunspear. During his time in King’s Landing as Justiciar, Doran was known as a fair yet stern presence in the King’s court, and a kind and sweet uncle to the young Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon. There remained some contempt between the Prince and Lord Tywin Lannister that no number of years or royal interventions could foster into a positive relationship, and by the time Prince Doran retired from his position and returned to Sunspear, the two Great Lords were no less than utterly hostile toward one another. Gout had taken root in the Prince’s feet, making his work in the capital more pain than it was worth. His return to Sunspear was met with celebration in 295AC, not long after the disaster of the Stepstones. Dorne was left in disarray after the battles, particularly the pirate-ridden Ghost Hill and Broken Arm, where Prince Oberyn had spent the better part of a year since its end overseeing reconstruction and fighting back the last of the pirates. For some years, Princess Arianne had questioned her father in regards to his matrimonial plans for herself. Though she had grown fond of the prospect of marrying Prince Viserys Targaryen, Prince Doran immediately shot down that idea, insisting the Prince was a madman, the Other Side of the coin. To stem any further protestation, Arianne was swiftly married to Ser Cletus Yronwood, a Knight of House Yronwood, to appease Lord Anders’ losses in the Storming of the Stepstones, and Dorne’s desire for a show of regional loyalty. The marriage was not initially a happy one, but produced two children and a relationship of mutual respect and adoration, until Ser Yronwood’s fateful death in the Boneway. War for the Marches Though the origins of the disagreements are yet unknown, it was said to have been Princess Arianne’s temper lit aflame during a celebration for Prince Doran’s 60th nameday that began the dispute between houses Martell and Baratheon. What resulted was a painful and difficult war, with the Stormlander Marcher Houses attempting to claim the lands of House Wyl, and Dornish houses attempting to take Blackhaven and Nightsong. In the midst of a painful winter, each loss was a devastation, and each win for both sides was little more than a Pyrrhic victory. The war came to its pinnacle in single combat between Lord Jon Connington and Ser Cletus Yronwood, leaders of their respective regiments, on a cliff over the Sea of Dorne. Lord Connington was the first to fall, taken by a mortal wound and slipped from the cliffside. Ser Yronwood didn’t survive long enough to celebrate his victory, pulled by the ankle over the cliffside. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered, and the fighting ended that day. The Princess' Descent Following her husband’s death and that of her father in 313AC, the Princess Arianne grew more and more paranoid of attempts of her life, those that may or may not have existed at all. She openly struck her cousin Nymeria Sand in court, for implying her madness had become apparent, a move that drove Nymeria from Sunspear and Dorne and back to the city where she had been born. She replaced the entire household guard and servants with people she thought she could trust, settling distrust and disdain in the city. When a small disagreement about land rights between Hellholt and Vaith fell to the Princess to decide, she declared the trial a farce and attempt on the life of her children, and took the heads of both quarreling lords. A small council was called in secret by Prince Nymor, Arianne’s heir; invited were the nobility of every corner of Dorne, including the mourning houses Qorgyle and Vaith, and near every other Lord in the region. Though he had not initially been invited, the now elderly Prince Oberyn interrupted the council himself; Prince Nymor had been frightened of the consequences of Arianne’s favourite uncle in attendance, but Prince Oberyn was quick to voice his opinion in favour of deposing the ruling Princess. In 330AC, Arianne Martell was lead by force from Sunspear in the night so to avoid attention, but the Princess yowled and screamed the entire journey to the Water Gardens. It was there she was imprisoned for the second time in her life, guarded constantly by a rotation of knights who found no appeal to the ageing Princess’ attempts at seduction. Without the Princess in the Sun Seat, Dorne was able to return to relative normality; at an attempt at reconciliation, Prince Nymor took the beautiful Lady Lorella Qorgyle as his wife, and the young Edwin Vaith as his squire; Princess Tysane Martell was wedded to the Lord of Vaith as a further show of faith. Nymor, Prince of Dorne Nymor and Lorella's marriage was not one of love, but the arrangement was not loveless. They had five children, four of whom survived infancy; Prince Qyle Martell, born 331AC, Princess Rhya Martell, born 334AC, Princess Priya Martell, born 336AC, and Prince Qorin Martell, born 345AC. In an attempt to further foster better relations with the Stormlands, Prince Nymor received Lady Marya Baratheon as his cupbearer in 350AC, while his son Prince Qorin squired below Lord Baratheon in Storm's End. Though the Prince had other matches in mind for his eldest child, Prince Qyle and Lady Marya became fast friends and young lovers during her time in Sunspear; Lord Baratheon was glad to see his sister so happy with a rare love match for a betrothal, and gladly consented to the marriage. The Prince and his new wife had two children, and until the second war at the Stepstones, lived a blissfully happy life together. Liberation in the Stepstones In early 360AC, a sellsword by the name of Grazdan was said to have cleaned the Stepstones of pirates and monsters for the sake of the Archon of Tyrosh's prize whore; an act done of love, it was reviled by many, but admired in Dorne, especially after Grazdan's beloved new wife installed laws protecting women and prostitutes, policed the safe brothels on the islands, opened convents for older whores, and gave rapists the noose for their crimes. Traffic through the Stepstones and relations with the Free Cities had never been better, but when it was said a member of House Martell had sent for the Faceless Man who had killed Grazdan's wife in her bed, all progress and peace between the Stepstones and Dorne seemed to have never exist at all. Grazdan began by raiding the shores of the Broken Arm at first, razing Ghost Hill and devastating the villages and townships along the Northern coast. Prince Qyle insisted on leading the armies against the invaders himself, but Prince Nymor's paranoia kept the heir to Dorne close. While the majority of Grazdan's numbers laid waste to the cities of the Sea of Dorne, he had distracted the Dornish armies from the capital. On a night in 365AC, Grazdan himself lead a retinue of men who infiltrated the city, and kidnapped every member of the ruling family. Those who lived to tell what had occurred in Sunspear spread the word immediately, begging for help from every corner of the realm. The maester of House Martell was the one who got word to King's Landing first, where King Maekar II responded immediately. The people of Dorne appealed to all men of honour to take up their cause and rescue the hostages, as well as to extract revenge on those responsible. A huge undertaking followed, as lords from throughout the Seven Kingdoms were called to King’s Landing to begin preparing an invasion force, and for the second time in under a century, House Targaryen called it’s banners to attack the Stepstones; not as conquerors this time, but as liberators. House Baratheon, House Velaryon, and near all small houses of Dorne were invaluable in the liberation, offering swords and ships wherever they were needed. In the bloody fighting that followed, many men died, but, after storming the shores of Bloodstone, the supporters of the Martells found themselves quickly outnumbered. Pirates and sellswords had riddled the shorelines with caverns and hidey holes, caches of weapons in the most inconspicuous of places. The first attempt to win back the Prince and his family failed miserably, but they were not turned away from their rescue just yet. A swift fleet of Crownlander ships and soldiers fortified the Dornishmen’s battle, and in the early mists of the morning, Bloodstone was little more than its name. Princess Priya's eldest child, Arian Sand, escaped the captivity of Grazdan's men; armed with little more than a spear and shield bearing the blood of his foes, it was said young Arian single-handedly pushed through the garrison remaining to guard his family, funnelling the men into the close quarters, and fought through to the beach with uncontrolled ferocity. He was knighted on the bloody shores by the then-Prince Aemon Targaryen for his skill in battle and honourable attempt to preserve the lives of his cousins and grandfather, and some months after the Battle on the Stepstones, was awarded a position on a Kingsguard. Prince Nymor and his grandchildren had survived the fray with severe injuries, but Lady Marya Baratheon died in the night, suspected to have been raped and used as a hostage before Grazdan’s ultimate fall. The bodies of Prince Qyle, Princess Rhya, Princess Priya, and Prince Qorin served as a grim reminder for Dorne and all of the Seven Kingdoms of the price paid for the success of the fight. Recent Members Prince Nymor Martell The patriarch of the Martell family, Nymor became ruling Prince in 330AC after the deposition of his mother Princess Arianne Martell. he had been married to Lady Lorella Qorgyle as a show of faith for Princess Arianne's actions, and by her had four children named Qyle, Rhya, Priya, and Qorin. In 365AC he, along with the rest of his family, were kidnapped by the sellsword king Grazdan. In captivity Nymor witnessed the deaths of all four of his children, and escaped the chaos during the Liberation with his grandchildren. He is an elderly man now, and rules Dorne from his seat in Sunspear. Prince Qyle Martell Prince Qyle was the eldest child of Prince Nymor Martell, and as such was due to inherit his titles. He married his father's cupbearer, Lady Marya Baratheon for love, and by her had two children. He was among the first to be killed on Bloodstone by the sellsword king Grazdan. Princess Aliandra Martell The heiress of Dorne, Princess Aliandra was raised to not fall to the same mistakes as her great-grandmother and the last female ruler of Dorne, Princess Arianne Martell. She endured a month in captivity during Grazdan the Gruesome's war against House Martell, and emerged an orphan. She is recently widowed, and the mother to a young son named Garin. Ser Arian Sand Ser Arian Sand is the eldest child of the late Princess Priya Martell and her paramour, a Braavosi named Taurin Fregor. At age 17 he was among the captives of Grazdan the Gruesome, and escaped his chains to fight on the beaches of Bloodstone and earn his knighthood. He was awarded a position on the Kingsguard a year later, making him one of the youngest ever at the time. Family Tree * Princess Arianne Martell (b. 276AC, d. 332AC), Lady of Sunspear, wife of Ser Cletus Yronwood ** Prince Nymor Martell (b. 306AC), and his wife, Lady Lorella Qorgyle (b. 311AC, d. 360AC) *** Prince Qyle Martell (b. 331AC, d. 365AC), and his wife, Lady Marya Baratheon (b. 334AC, d. 365AC) **** Princess Aliandra Martell (b. 350AC), and her husband Lord Morgan Jordayne (b. 342AC, d. 369AC) ***** Prince Garin Martell (b. 367AC) **** Prince Tryston Martell (b. 353AC), a knight and Aliandra's sworn sword **** Princess Saria Martell (b. 354AC) **** Prince Horan Martell (b. 361AC) **** Prince Drusan Martell (b. 364AC) *** Princess Rhya Martell (b. 332AC, d. 365AC), a septa of the Faith *** Princess Priya Martell (b. 333AC, d. 365AC), and her paramour, a Braavosi merchant lord **** Ser Arian Sand (b. 348AC), a knight of the Kingsguard **** Tya Sand (b. 350AC) **** Yandry Sand (b. 351AC) *** Prince Qorin Martell (b. 338AC, d. 365AC) and his wife, Lady Catrin Dalt (b. 339AC, d. 364AC) **** Prince Quentyn Martell (b. 355AC) **** Princess Yllsa Martell (b. 355AC) **** Princess Tysa Martell (b. 364, stillborn) ** Princess Tysane Martell (b. 307AC) and her husband, Lord Dareon Vaith (b. 299AC, d. 368AC) Category:House Martell Category:Great Houses Category:Houses of Dorne